All posts tagged ‘hobbits’

Well. That happened. I finally went to see The Hobbit in the theaters. I even opted for the 3D high fps stuff, and sat for three hours following one of my favorite stories of all time on the big screen. To say that I had big expectations is putting it mildly. To say that the film didn’t quite hold up is both hugely disappointing and, in lots of ways, inevitable. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films are huge shoes to fill simply because LoTR is a better, grander, more epic story. Stretching one book into three movies is quite a feat, made more complicated by some rather quizzical choices on the studio’s part. Ethan Gilsdorf over at GeekDad did a great analysis of some of the issues that he found distracting.

First, I’m not talking about the fps thing. That’s a post in and of itself, and the more I research it the more I realize it’s going to take a lot more than a bullet point critique to wrap my head around it. To be honest, I thought the high fps was innovative and really changed the way I saw the film. But like I said, that’s not the focus of this piece. Some of these points are related to fps, but the actual choice and technology I’ll leave to another day.

Caveat: I am a huge Tolkien geek. I realize that I am the worst demographic to please. I spent the majority of the early aughts running around the Elendor MUSH pretending to be various hobbits and delving as deeply as possible into the books to be as thematic as I could. I played Sam, Pippin, Merry, and a variety of other feature characters, and read LoTR close to a dozen times. I’m also a geek and a writer and I tend to examine things to within an inch of their lives.

That said, I really enjoyed the Lord of the Rings films, and was pretty much expecting to feel the same about The Hobbit. I even chalked up some of the negative reviews out there to people who didn’t get Jackson’s vision or that the film was supposed to be lighthearted. I wanted to be an unflinching champion for the film, but I can’t. I’m not saying it wasn’t worth the money or that I didn’t enjoy it, but it was certainly not on par with the other films. There are plenty of things that I loved, but quite a few things that are still leaving me scratching my head.

You see, I have a bit of a list, so I’ve narrowed it down to six to save your eyes and my brain.

As usual for Lego series video games, this is best when played with two players, although it can also be played by one person. As a mom, my love for two player mode is that it requires cooperation in order to solve the puzzles and complete the levels. Perfect family bonding time. Like similar Lego titles, you also can go through the adventures multiple times and re-play once you’ve unlocked characters and want to return in free play mode.

The cutscenes in Lego Lord of the Rings come directly from the movie with a few comic gags thrown in. My husband and I miss the silent pantomimed cutscenes from Lego Star Wars, but my daughter thinks the spoken dialog is the best thing ever. I guess Lego knows their audience. Speaking of which, there are very few surprises in terms of plot if you know the books and movie. That’s as you’d expect, since the plot is long and complicated enough as is. It doesn’t make it less challenging to know the basic goals of each scene. In some ways it enhances the experience. Continue Reading “My Precious: Adventures with the Lego Lord of the Rings Video Game” »

Air New Zealand has what are probably the best airline safety videos ever. Heck, who knew I’d even want to watch a safety video when not strapped into a seat with no choice. This one features some great cameos. I’ve always wanted to visit New Zealand one day, and now I know what airline I’d choose. Well played.

They’re also running a contest to win a trip to see The Hobbit premier in Wellington, New Zealand. I bet I know which safety video they’ll run. Just count the number of times the Elvish appears in the video and enter it here.

Their previous safety videos are pretty hilarious, too. Here’s one with Richard Simmons:

Ethan Gilsdorf - Photo: Meg Birnbaum

Ethan Gilsdorf is the celebrated geek author of the very awesome book, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks. It’s the sort of book that, if you’re a lifelong geek like me, you can’t put down. The book chronicles Ethan’s life as a young geek, his escape from his roots, and then his return. From Tolkien to tabletop roleplaying, from Boston to New Zealand, the book is a pitch-perfect account of one geek’s journey in a very, very wide world.

So, in celebration this great book going paperback, I asked Ethan to do an interview for us here at GeekMom. And since he’s done quite a few interviews, I didn’t want it to be the same dull questions as usual. So we delved a little deeper into the depths of geekdom to tease out some unusual answers.

Hark! There is more, indeed.

In addition to the interview, Ethan is also giving away 5 signed copies of his book Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks to our readers.

How do you win this coveted book, you ask? Ethan, among other things, is also a poet. So I thought it’d be cool if you could give us a verse or two. Be it a free verse, a limerick, a sonnet, a haiku, or a villanelle, on the geeky subject of your choosing (think “An Ode to Harry Potter” or the “Ballad of Bilbo”). Just put your entries in the comments below and we’ll choose the best five entries by Friday!

Good luck, and geek on!

Ethan Gilsdorf Answers GeekMom’s Curious Questions

GeekMom: You’re playing D&D. Your first character choice? Ethan Gilsdorf: First, a caveat: I come from the dark ages of AD&D, back when we covered our holy texts (the Monster Manual, et al) with brown shopping bag paper and we didn’t have funky classes like Avenger, Invoker, or College Professor, or races like Minotaur, Shardmind, or SpongeBob. No siree! We walked to wizard school through 3 feet of snow and we didn’t have d20s, only d2s and d3s. But to the question: I have always preferred the sneakier, tree-huggier classes like ranger or thief. As far as races, I go hobbit (ooops, silly me, I mean “halfling”) or half-elf. I guess I have a schizophrenic Aragorn … no … Bilbo! fetish. I like the idea of stealth rather than brawn, and I really dig the dark-and-stormy loner types with haunted bloodlines.

GM: The Hobbit movie. Is it going to happen? Your thoughts on PJ vs. Del Toro, and what is in store for the franchise?EG: The news on this darned movie changes daily. Now that GDT is out, at least those who worried he’d Hellboy it up too much or front-load it with too much action and creatures and special effects, should be breathing a sigh of relief. GDT is a wonderful director, don’t get me wrong. But there’s some solace in knowing that PJ will be at the helm (at least that’s the last news) and the visual and directorial style will be consistent with LOTR. Now the bigger question is whether The Hobbit will be filmed in New Zealand or not, due to, first, labor/union issues, and now tax break issues, and whether Warner Bros. will want to make a film in a country where the actors threatened to strike. There have been huge rallies in NZ to keep the film there. As I write this, Warners is reportedly headed to NZ to meet with PJ’s company Wingnut Films to move the production offshore. (Weirdly, Facebook pulled a “Keep the Hobbit film shoot in New Zealand” page after it got 10,000 fans — is Facebook in cahoots with Time/Warner?). Tempers are flaring and folks are upset. It’s unfortunate, but since everyone involved stands to make a crapload of money, the film will get made, if not in NZ then the UK or Eastern Europe. (Editor’s note: the film will officially be made in NZ.)

GM:Do you think giving your child a geeky name (Zelda, Frodo, Superman) is a good thing, or a bad thing? Are parents setting their kids up for a geeky upbringing, or will this overt geek indoctrination end up backfiring?EG: Will naming your spawn Arwen, Neo, Buffy or Leia condemn them to endless torment? I doubt it. There’s already a trend for crazy non-geek mash-up names that seem equally ridiculous, i.e., Breckin? Chance? Maxigan? Attica? Not much goofier than Samwise. Besides, by the time your babies are in high school, Lord of the Rings will be required reading, and they’ll be able to study French, Latin and Na’vi.

GM:What are your geeky black holes? Any fandoms or pastimes you just aren’t into/don’t get/wish you could like but don’t? (Me: Dr. Who, for instance)EG: One problem is I don’t watch TV as much as I used to, so I’ve missed a lot of the recent shows like Battlestar Galactica and Lost (I know, it’s embarrassing to admit! They’re on my list to get on DVD!). And in terms of gaming, I don’t own Xbox or Wii, so I don’t have much first-person experience with the most ground-breaking games likeBioShock or Gears of War. What can I say? My hand-eye was always pathetic (although I’m pretty good at old-school arcade games like Galaga and Robotron 2084). I never got into anime or manga, either (but weirdly loved “Star Blazers” as a kid). Like you, I never connected with Dr. Who, despite it airing each night on PBS between Julia Child and MacNeil/Lehrer. Those BBC special effects were just too cheesy a kid who was spoiled on ILM-quality effects. I’m too old for Joss Whedon fandom and wish I had gotten into Magic: The Gathering. But I do my best to keep up and make sure my black holes aren’t too deep. Lately, I’ve been diving into steampunk for an article I’m writing for the Boston Globe. I even attended a steampunk LARP. That was a hoot.

GM: Gilsdorf. Seems like the name has some geeky undertones. I think Gil-Galad, and dwarf. Were you just predestined?EG: On my book tour, I’ve gotten a zillion comments from people asking me if my name is real. Yep, I say, my parents actually named me this tongue-twister “Ethan Gilsdorf.”. People wonder if it’s Elvish. Or Elvis. At the time, the name Ethan was about as rare as orc teeth. Friends in high school called me Nahte Frodslig.